Results tagged “election2008”

Today we're wrapping up our look at the top 8 local stories that captivated us in 2008.

Chalk this as another slice of awesome that somehow passed us by in the election craziness: ESPN's piece on whether or not Ditka could have toppled Obama.

A few weeks ago, we pointed out how Jesse Jackson, Jr. dismissed the notion of replacing Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate while at the same time posting stories to the contrary on his website. A politician contradicting himself? No! Well, in the newest example of Jackson's "No-I'm-Not-Yes-I-Am" campaign, it seems Jackson's U.S. Rep Office has sent out an email touting Jackson as the candidate to replace Obama in the Senate. Steve Rhodes breaks it all down over at Division Street, including the results of a Jackson-ordered Zogby poll of possible replacements. Of course, as Rhodes points out, all of the polling data Jackson includes is pointless as it's up to Governor Blagojevich to name a replacement and 2010 would be the next election for the seat anyway.

We're still trying to track down the Trib graphic they used, but The Beachwood Reporter outlines some of the interesting area election results, broken down by ward, of which McCain won none.

Believe it or not, there were people who actually voted for Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 Presidential election; 46 percent of America, in fact. And several of them live here in Chicago, the Obama Epicenter. The Trib talked to some of them over the weekend to learn about their understandable angst; one person even compared it to being a Cubs fan dealing with the White Sox World Series win in 2005.

As the monumental achievement of Tuesday night sinks in, we now can get reflective about what happened. And our friends over at The Windy Citizen have taken that one step further with an excellent look at Chicagoans' motivation for voting with their "Why I Voted" project. They spoke to 22 people from Evanston, Hyde Park, and the Loop as they cast their ballots to get their feelings on why they voted in this historic election. Stop by and take a gander at the results.

MSNBC is reporting that close to 137 million Americans, a turnout of 64.1 percent, cast ballots in this historic election, the highest total since 1908.

Before the ink was dry on the papers announcing them as winners of their respective races, it seems buddies Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel might get to work even closer. Several media outlets are now picking up on a story by Congressional newspaper Roll Call, which is reporting Rahm has accepted an offer to be Chief of Staff for the Obama Administration (henceforth referred to as the Obamistration). Rahm was elected to the U.S. House when Blago left to run for governor in 2002. He spear-headed the 2006 Democratic take-over of Congress and won his seat last night with a 74 percent vote total, not that it matters as it looks like he'll be bidding Congress adieu.

                

Yep, even more Obamapalooza pics from our Flickr Pool! And a few more to come...

With reports of long lines all around the area, it seemed we were heading for a record turnout. Did that pan out? Not quite, according to Cook County Clerk David Orr, who estimated Cook County turnout would be just below 80 percent. "We're still going to have a big turnout but I don't think we're going to make 80 percent." However, in spite of this, the total number of voters in Illinois casting ballots did hit a record high with an estimate of 5.7 million. Still, why the overestimation of turnout? Spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioner James Allen pointed to the early rush, saying, "I call it the Rally Effect...Either they wanted to avoid the tangle of traffic or they wanted to go...After that big morning rush, we expected a supersized turnout. But after after 3 o'clock, instead of getting busier and busier the polls got deader and deader." What about national turnout? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 126 million people voted in the 2004 Kerry-Bush Presidential election. As of 9:50 a.m. this morning, MSNBC had 118,694,407 voters casting ballots for the two major party candidates (with 97 percent reporting). That doesn't include votes cast for third party or independent candidates.

In case you missed it or if you just wanted to relive it, here is Barack Obama's acceptance speech as he was elected the 44th President of the United States.

History has been made as CNN, NBC, and other major network are projecting Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

Good evening, everyone. We'll be keeping you updated with results, both national and local, as they roll in. Will our junior Senator become President? Will incumbents like Rahm and Durbin hold on to their seats? Will the people of Illinois vote for a Constitutional Convention? We'll be following it with you right here. Also, be sure to check back later for our Obamapalooza post with updates from staff members and readers from Grant Park. But for now, we await the results. We know it's been a heated, emotional campaign season so we ask you to keep it clean and civil in the comments.

Grant Park and the surrounding areas are packed with people with and without tickets to witness history. We've got several staff members and readers down at the park and we'll be keeping you as up-to-date with happenings at the park as we can via texts, twitter, flickr, and other updates.

The first polls have closed, the first exit polls are showing Obama leading big in some states, and we'll be here all night long watching it with you, covering local races and the big Obamapalooza festivities in Grant Park.

If you watched ESPN's Monday Night Football last night, you've seen Chris Berman talk to Senators McCain and Obama, but it's worth a gander if only to hear Obama diss the NCAA's BCS system. [via Awful Announcing]

Happy Election Day, dear readers. With such a big day ahead of us, the Chicagoist staff is scattered about the city voting and trying our best to go on with business as usual. But we can't do it alone; we need your help.

We're under four hours away from the first polls closing but the news is still going fast and furious.

Not content with candidate Cabbage Patch Kids? Rock the air quotes or the terrorist fist jab in style: with presidential candidate finger puppets. McCain/Obama finger puppets sold separately. Handmade in Chicago. $20.

Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama and wife Michelle, escorted by their daughters, cast their votes this morning at Shoesmith Elementary School in Hyde Park. Also voting at this location? Louis Farrakhan and William Ayers. Matt Drudge's head just exploded; as far as we know, no terrorist fist jabs were exchanged.

One of the smaller pleasures about voting is getting that sticker that says, "I voted!" that lets everyone know, "Hey, I rocked the vote." But there seems to be a severe lack of stickers out there, so how are we to display to the whole world, proudly, that we voted? This is my first general election in Chicago and I'm shocked that there are no stickers here. If the South did one thing right, it's the "I voted" stickers. (Well, and S.E.C. football). Anyway, our friend Scott Smith over at Time Out Chicago has a solution for those of you itching for a sticker. All you'll need is your receipt, a mailing label, some scissors and a little glue. Get clicking and get sticking. Image of voting receipt by kristen caston.

Dear Cindy Miller of Washington, Illinois:

      

It's Election Day and early reports are of long lines at polling places around the city and the build-up of Obamapalooza. Keep 'em coming, folks!

Things are already cranking early this morning with people already showing up for Obamapalooza and glitches already being reported. According to Crain's:

Voting in Washington Park on the South Side was slowed when there were not enough pens to mark the ballots.

Continue reading "Get Your Vote On! Election Day 2008 Is Here"

It's barely 8:30 a.m. and already a report of a voting glitch down in Pilsen. Reader Lindsay sent us a tip, saying:

I was in line by 6:05 and at 6:30 I opted to vote with the electronic booth. Then I noticed something fishy, it was only asking me about Federal races. I had stayed up last night figuring which of the 100 judges was good and deciding how I felt about Con-Con and now I had no say? I asked the election judge who said, that's just the way it is. I know my rights and caused a fuss, saying something was wrong. In what world do you get a smaller ballot if you vote electronically? I then asked another election judge and there was major confusion before that realized that for me and everyone before me they had been using the wrong code. And now they did not know how to spoil my ballot. So in true Chicago style they let me cast my ballot and gave me a new card.

That's all, kids. Read up and then rest up. Tomorrow's gonna be a wild day. Happy voting!

Are you feeling the jitters? Can you feel the electricity in the air? Election Day is tomorrow and we can't wait. It's always exciting and this historic election should provide plenty to cover, both nationally and locally. As this long, at times very bitter campaign draws to a close, let's look back at two of the Presidential candidates sillier moments. First, is this weekend's appearance on SNL by John McCain, with a little help from Tina Fey and his wife Cindy. And after that is last year's SNL Halloween skit featuring Barack Obama. Want more SNL political tomfoolery? Check out their Presidential Bash special tonight, which will replay some of their best political skits from this election year and features a few Second City alums.

The future is now, at least over at CNN. During tomorrow night's election, the network is planning on using three-dimensional holograms to supplement those weird touch screens they've been using. They'll project holographic images of their field correspondents stationed around the country, including Chicago, onto their set using 44 cameras and 20 computers in each location to get the image rendered correctly. Holy shit. I will pay $50 to the first CNN tech who manages to slip in a glimpse of the Death Star blueprints instead of, say, Anderson Cooper.

As Election Day approaches in just a few scant hours, it looks like early voting wasn't just a local thing. Officials have said that early voting in the state of Illinois has topped 877,000. Overall, turnout is expected to be near 80 percent in the state for this election. The previous high for early voting was 220,000 during this year's primaries.

Worried whether or not things in Illinois will be on the up-and-up when you cast your vote tomorrow? Have no fear, State Attorney General Lisa Madigan is on the case. According to The Lisa, 166 investigator teams will fan out across the state to monitor the election and make sure everything is good to g: no voting irregularities or voter fraud, to name a few.. Northern Illinois will get a large majority of those teams (125) while down state will do with fewer (41). Some other issues include no voter intimidation within 100 feet of a polling place and the right to a new paper ballot if you made a mistake on the original - as long as it hasn't been cast.